Airport Express - Coach - Taxi

There will be 3 of us going to the Salisbury Y from the airport. We arrive at 5:30pm.

The Salisbury told me that there is a door to door coach from the airport to the hotel for 130HK per person (390HK for all three of us). The airport express website states that for all three of us it would be 210HK. Someone wrote that the cab would be 250HK.

From what I read the Airport express would take us to Jordan RD in 20 minutes and then we would take a shuttle bus to the Salisbury.

At late afternnon which would be the fastest way to get to the Salisbury? Appears that for 3 the door to door coach is not the most economical. A taxi would be cheaper and most likely take the same amount of time.

What do we do with our bags on the Airport express? I don%26#39;t think that I can lift my bag up to an overhead storage area. Is it going to be a hazzle to change from the Express to a shuttle? And again what about the bags?

We leave in 3 weeks and I want all these small problems solved prior to going.

Airport Express - Coach - Taxi

For Airport Express, you don%26#39;t put your luggage onto a overhead storage area; instead, there is a specified spot near the doors of the ';car'; that is dedicated to luggage in each ';car';, and you will not need to lift your luggage- just roll it in to the area and then find a seat :).

You can also find more information at MTR%26#39;s own website too.

Airport Express - Coach - Taxi

Taxi will be your best bet. Costs about the same as the Airport Express, and timing is also similar if you factor in the transfer from train to hotel.

The Airport Express has full height luggage racks adjacent to the doors, so you won%26#39;t have to lift up your bags. The connecting shuttle buses also have racks, but you%26#39;ll need to carry your bags into the bus.

Looks like a taxi will be our best bet. We have a long flight that with transfers and waiting will take us 22 hours. So it will be easier to grab a taxi and sit back instead of the hazzle of changing from the express to a bus.

Do we bargain a taxi fare?

Bargain a taxi fare? I don%26#39;t think you can, but for one time, a taxi driver offered and did drive us back to the Airport when our trip was finished, and he gave us a set price instead of going via the meter which probably would cost more.

All taxis run according to the meter, no bargaining allowed. You can leave a small tip (normally round up to the next dollar, or a few more). Bags and tolls are extra.

Don%26#39;t bargain the taxi fare. The taxi has a meter. You pay what is on the meter.

In several countries I have negotiated a set price with a cab driver who wanted the fare. Problem in Hing Kong would be that I don%26#39;t know the ';going'; fare to do such negotiation.

It is illegal for taxi driver to negotiate fare other than charging in accordance with the meter. (Toll and luggage in the boot are additional. Wheelchair is free.) The majority of taxi drivers are honest. Note down the license plate no. and the name of the driver just in case. Every taxi must have a driver identity plate in English and Chinese with a photo of the driver, license plate no. displayed inside the cab. The only additional mild caveat that I have is your arrival time. You may run into the tail end of the evening rush hours. It is also customary to give the taxi driver a small tip.

No, it is NOT illegal to charge *less* than the metered fare and it does happen from time to time.

However HK is not ';other country'; where you would normally negotiate a fare. Do you negotiate taxi fares in the US?

It may be okay to negotiate taxi fares in other countries, but it%26#39;s illegal in Hong Kong. For a while there have been drivers who willingly give discounts for long distance trips (normally 20%), as BSA126 said. They operate on a on-call basis (you can spot them with 5 or 6 mobile phones in the cab). But they are doing that against the law. It%26#39;s not fair to other taxi drivers, and the recent fare structure adjustment was implemented to eradicate ';discount taxis';.

If you really want to save money, then take the airport bus.